The Aryans had passed the nomadic stage before the Vedic age, great importance was attached to herds of cattle which were used for Agricultural Labour and Drawing Carts; horses were employed for drawing chariots; Sheep, Goat, Ass and Dog were domesticated animals; the dog was used for hunting, guarding and tracking cattle and for night watch.

It is not certain whether the Vedic people were familiar with the cat and the camel. Among the wild animals, Lion, Elephant and Boar Were Known but Not the Tiger.

        Agriculture, the mainstay of economic stability, was considered respectable. There are references, to several stages of agricultural operations such as ploughing sowing in furrows, cutting of corn, making bundles of sheaves, threshing, and winnowing. The plough was drawn by six, eight, or even twelve bulls. Canals were dug for irrigation.

        Prayers for success in trade are common in the Rig-Veda, but Vedic Aryans were not expert traders. There were no good roads. Bullocks, packhorses and perhaps camels provided the means of transport. There was both river and marine navigation.

Although barter was practiced, money and markets were known. Cows and gold ornaments (Niska) of fixed value were the media of exchange. There are no references to silver or copper coins.

        Specialization in industry had already begun and several professions including those of carpenters, smiths, tanners, weavers, potters and grinders of corn are mentioned.

        There are numerous references to the physician’s skill, feats of divine healers of diseases and experts in surgery. In the cure of diseases, charms and spells enjoyed equal rank with healing herbs and drugs.

    Family (Kula) served as the basis of both social and political organization. Starting with family, the hierarchy in the ascending order was village (grama), clan (vis), people or tribe (jana) and country (rastra) indicating the evolution of Vedic polity.1

        The exact significance of the terms Grama, Visand Janaand their inter-relation is not quite clear, sometimes these terms are used almost as synonyms.

__________________________________________________________________

        A number of clans constituted The People (Jana). The country (rastra) embraced a Number Of Tribes (Janas), several of which are mentioned in the Rig-Veda and later Vedic literature; but their administrative organization varied.

        The State (rastra) was normally ruled by the king (Rajan). Kingship was normally hereditary and generally descended by primogeniture. Elective monarchy was perhaps not altogether unknown, but there is no clear reference to it in the Rig-Veda.

        The Purohita (domestic priest) was the foremost among officials. The sole associate of the king as his preceptor, friend, philosopher and guide; he accompanied the king to the battlefield and gave him support by prayers and spells. There were also the Senani, the leader of the army and Gramani, the head of the village in civil as well as military matters.

        The army comprised foot-soldiers and charioteers. Weapons were made of wood, stone, bone and metal. Bow and arrow was the usual weapon. Arrows were tipped with points of metal or poisoned horn. Lances, spears, daggers, axes, swords and slings were weapons of offence. Leather-guard, coat-of-mail and helmet were defensive weapons. References are made to the “moving fort” and a machine for assaulting strongholds.

As checks on the king’s arbitrary exercise of power, there functioned two popular assemblies, Sabha and Samiti, which expressed the will of the people on important matters.

        To administer justice and punish the guilty were among the principal duties of the king, the Purohita assisting him in the discharge of the former. From the time of the later Samhitas, the Sabha too functioned as a court of justice.

        Full individual ownership of movables, cattle, horses, gold, weapons, and slaves was recognized. Though land was owned by families and proprietorship vested in the father as the head of the family it is a a moot point whether sone had any share in the ownership.